For those who don't know me I'll say this : I love making things and I love makers. I think being a maker is one of the highest callings. So whenever I see a small local business gearing up to make something, I get excited.
Entrepreneurs Cameron Banga, Micheal Phelps, and Jeff Lange form the College Kid App team. The team's goal is to have at least one fully functional iPhone application by the end of the summer. While the team has little experience in coding on the iPhone platform, they are quickly learning the ropes and hope to produce prototypes of their applications in the coming weeks. Some possible applications include an e-reader, a phone utility, and a game.
Banga feels that Apple makes it very easy for a team to build up an application from scratch and distribute it to a huge audience. All of the team members already have Apple computers and iPhone OS based devices, and joining the Apple developer program was relatively inexpensive, especially compared to other smart-phone development platforms. The team is also using social networking sites like Facebook to advertise and promote their business. These facts combined mean that the team has been able to start their business with very little overhead.
What's really unique about this venture is the team's website, College Kid App. Here the team is documenting the entire process of creating a business. By the time they have finished their iPhone application, their blog and documentation will serve as an invaluable tool to anyone who has ever thought about making their own business, even if it is not a software engineering firm or not. The blog will give people a realistic idea of the amount of energy, the pitfalls, and the potential rewards of a start-up business. I think it can do the community a grea deal of good, showing that in a short time and with limited resources, small teams really can produce great things.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this project. The team has still has challanges to hurdle, but I know I'm looking forward to installing their app on my own iPod Touch.